Supreme Court May Augment Inequality

The case, Harris v. Quinn, brought before the Supreme Court on Tuesday could threaten the constitutionality of public employee unions and undermine a long line of precedent.

Justice Elena Kagan remarked: “This is … a radical argument. It would radically restructure the way workplaces across this country are—are run.”

Harold Meyerson contends that the Supreme Court will align itself against the “have-nots”:

“With the decline of private-sector unions, ­public-employee unions have become the preeminent organizers of voter mobilization campaigns in working-class and minority communities, the leading advocates of immigration reform, the foremost lobby for raising the minimum wage and the all-around linchpin of the modern Democratic Party.”

“A ruling that neuters the organizations that poor, working women have joined to win a few dollars an hour more would put a judicial seal of approval on the United States’ towering economic inequality.”